I had to go all the way to Alaska but I finally found a moose!
Meet the Alaska Moose or alces alces gigas, the subspecies of moose found in Alaska. Gigas means giant and it is the perfect name for this big guy! I tried several years ago while on a trip to Maine to see a moose, but it never happened so I was thrilled when I came across them while visiting my daughter in Alaska.
Female, or cow
Cow and her calf
Moose are the largest members of the deer family (cervids). The Alaska moose is actually the largest of its species. A male, or bull, can stand between 6 - 7 feet at their shoulders and may reach 9 feet in length from head to backend. They may grow to weigh as much as 1,600 pounds! Members of the deer family grow antlers. Antlers are bones that branched out and are shed every year. It is not surprising that the largest animal, the moose, have the largest antlers! Moose typically have broad, open-hand shaped or palmate antlers while other members of the deer family have twig shaped or dendritic antlers.
Bull moose
Antlers grow very fast, they are the fastest bone growth in the world. New growth is triggered by daylight increasing and testosterone production. Moose begin regrowing their antlers only a few months after shedding, which makes their growth rate very impressive. While growing, antlers are covered in velvet which supplies the needed blood to develop. A healthy moose in his prime can grow about a pound of antler per day! On a moose antlers spreading about feet would weigh around 40 pounds each. That is a lot of weight to carry around on your head.
Antlers are necessary during the rut, or breeding season as they are a display of bull’s stature and strength to cows. As rut begins, males will rub their antlers on vegetation to mark it with their scent and start sparring with each other in order to determine dominance. The sound of rattling antlers draws males to the area since sparring is an important part of social behavior throughout the deer family. Sparring eventually ends and then competition for females begins.
Antlers are good indication of health, not age. Moose will usually have their largest antlers during their prime years of 5-10 years of age. Past their prime they will have smaller, less dense antlers.During the spring, moose feed on sedges, pondweeds, and other grasses.
Summer feeding is critical for their winter survival and for reproduction. During the summer, moose add the new fleshy leaves of birch, willow, and aspen to their diets. They will also feed on cottonwood twigs. During the fall and winter moose consume large quantities of willow, birch, and aspen twigs. Winter can be a fight for survival for both males and females. Bulls are coming off rut with low fat stores and cows are struggling to feed themselves and support their developing calves.
